Visiting Delhi

Delhi is one of the biggest Metro cities of India. Truly a cosmopolitan city, its population comprises of people with different languages, caste, and creed. It has a mix of various cultures living together. A fast growing city, its population is a mix of neo rich, rich, middle class and poor people. Lot of foreigners also live in Delhi in the capacity of Diplomats, students etc.

Delhi has a large number of daily tourists both domestic and from overseas.

One can pass time in Delhi as per taste and preferences.

If you are living outside India and planning to visit Delhi, you will need VISA for India. Brief details are given below for information.

A. VISA for overseas travelers :

Exceptions : The passport holders of Bhutan, El Salvador, Maldives and Nepal are exempted from having a VISA for travel to India.

VISA on Arrival : Currently, the passport holders of the following countries can obtain VISA on arrival when they travel to India :-

Cambodia, Finland, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Luxemburg, Mynamar, New Zealand

Rest of World : The nationals of all other countries do need VISA for travelling to India.

You can contact the Embassy / High Commission / Consulate of India in your
country or the one located in nearest country and servicing the processing of India visa for your country.

( Online VISA can be applied on the website :

http://indianvisaonline.gov.in/visa/ )

VISA on Arrival likely to be liberalized in a big way by end of 2014 : Govt of India has announced that by the end of 2014, nationals of around 180 countries in the world will get VISA on arrival at all major international airports in India.

The facility of VISA on arrival will not be applicable to 8 nations - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria and Somalia. Nationals of these countries will continue to apply and obtain VISA for India as per existing procedure..

VISA on arrival is given for 'Single entry' for a period of 30 days.

Delhi is a city which is more of the level of a state.
When we talk of Delhi it is combination of Old Delhi and New Delhi.
Old Delhi was the capital at the time of Mughal rule. New Delhi is the
area which was made the capital at the time of British Empire.
New Delhi still continues to be the capital of India.
In wider context, 'Delhi' comprises of not only 'New Delhi' and 'Old Delhi'
but many new colonies which are not included in New Delhi or Old Delhi.

New Delhi, Old Delhi and other parts of Delhi are all contiguous areas
and only a person who is very well familiar with the geography of the city, will be able to tell when you have moved from New Delhi to Delhi and vice versa.

The Governments of both India and Delhi function from New Delhi.

New Delhi is more planned city as compared to Delhi.

Area : Delhi is spread in the area of about 1500 sq kms.
Population : As per census data of 2011, the population of Delhi is 16.7
million and is growing at the rate of 21% p.a. The main reason
of growth is that people from other parts of country migrate to
Delhi in search of better opportunities and facilities.
Climate : Delhi has extreme weather conditions. In summers the weather
is extremely hot and in winters the weather conditions are very
cold and chilling.

Summers are from April to September with April / May / June
being extremely hot. Maximum temperatures hover around 45-46
degrees centigrade.

July to Sep is the rainy season called 'Monsoon'.

Oct / Nov are comfortable. So are Feb and March.

Dec - Jan are the months of winters with varying severity. Min
temperature is around 3 degrees centigrade.

Generally speaking the better months for visiting Delhi are from
Oct to March. However, it purely depends on the personal
preferences. Some may like summers while others may have
preference for winters.

Mode of travel : Delhi has one large and busy airport known as 'Indira Gandhi
International Airport' and is very well connected with most parts of
the world. All major International Airlines have Delhi on their route
map.

For traveling within the city, there are various choices such as
Metro Rail, City bus service, Auto Rickshaws, Radio Taxis, Private
car taxis and e-rickshaws.

For sightseeing there is a special bus known as 'HO HO' bus.
(Hop on - Hop off Bus. You can get down at any point and get on
the next bus to continue the day journey)

Current distance covered by Metro Rail is around 190 kms within different parts of the city. Further expansion is going on at very fast pace. Its popularity can be judged from the fact that currently it carries about 2.3 million passengers daily.

Delhi is broadly divided into 5 major zones known as South Delhi, West Delhi, North Delhi, East Delhi and Central Delhi. For new comers in Delhi, the suggested place to stay is South Delhi or Central Delhi.

Delhi / New Delhi is full of all categories of hotels right from 7 star to budget hotels / lodges. The same are available in all zones of the city.

There are so many hotels in each category that it may not be practical to list all the hotels. However, just 2-3 hotels in each category are listed for convenience sake in South Delhi and in Central Delhi.

Tour of Various Monuments:

Delhi has several historical places viz., Red Fort, India Gate, Qutab Minar, Jantar Mantar, Jama Masjid, Hamayun Tomb etc.

Delhi Tourism, a Government organization, conducts daily sightseeing tours which covers most of the historical places mentioned above. The website of the agency conducting the tours is : http://www.delhitourism.gov.in/delhitourism/index.jsp

Major Places of Interest :

India Gate : India gate is a famous land mark in Delhi. It is a memorial in the memory of Indian soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. It was built in 1921. Later on 'Amar Jawan Jyoti' was also added here which is in the memory of soldiers who lost their lives in the wars fought with China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965 and 1971.

India gate is well lit during evening. It is located on Rajpath near Connaught place and is open for all from morning till late evening all 7 days of the week. There is no entry fee and no photography charges. Nearest Metro Station is Pragati Maidan ( around 2 kms )

Red Fort : Red fort is situation in Old Delhi near Chandni Chowk. It shows the style of architecture at the time of Mughal era. The Red Fort was built by Moghul emperor Shahjehan in the year 1648. Shahjehan built this fort when he shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi.

Visiting Fee for Indians and SAARC countries : Rs 10/- per person
Other tourists : Rs 250/- per person
Children below 15 yrs : Free
Photography is Free but Video filming : Rs 25/-
Sound and Light Show at 6PM ( Hindi & English) : Rs 80/- for adults, Rs30/-
for children
Timings are from Sunrise to Sunset, Mondays closed.
Nearest Metro Station : Chandni Chowk ( around 1km )

Qutab Minar : Qutab Minar was built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak. It is situated in the area of Mehrauli in South Delhi. It is connected with Metro Rail and the nearest station is Qutab Minar. It remains open on all 7 days. Entry fee for Indians and SAARC country is Rs10/-. For tourists from other countries : Rs250/-

Parliament House : It is a circular building and accommodates the two houses of the Parliament viz., The lok Sabha (Lower House) and The Rajya Sabha (Upper House). The building was built at the time of British Empire and is example of marvel of British Architecture.

It is not open to tourists for security considerations and can be seen only from outside.
It is situated on Parliament Street, near Connaught Place.

Akshardham Temple : It is a temple of Swaminarayan. It reflects ancient Indian architecture and is a beautiful building with lot of points of interest for visitors. Beautiful garden, Sound and Light show, Musical fountain, boat ride etc. are to name a few.
Days open : Tuesday to Sunday (Monday Closed). Timings 9AM to 7PM
No cameras / video cameras / mobiles phones / luggage / bags etc are allowed inside the complex.
No smoking / drinking / food items are allowed inside.
More details on :- http://www.akshardham.com/

Bahai Temple : It is located in South Delhi near Nehru Place. It is one of the 7 Lotus temples built around the world. It is a symbol of place of worship for all. It remains open from Tuesday to Sunday 9AM to 7PM (Monday closed). Entry is free. For photography permission is required. With lighting in the evening it looks spectacular.

Shopping Places : There are many Shopping Malls in all parts of Delhi and vicinity. To name some of the few :
Select City Mall in Saket;
DLF Emporio in Vasant Kunj;
Ansal Plaza near Andrews Ganj,
Great India Place in Noida etc.
Apart from Shopping malls the famous markets for shopping are : Lajpat Nagar Central Market, Karol Bagh, Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar, South Extension, Greater Kailash, Connaught Place, Khan Market.

Religious Places : Because Delhi is truly a cosmopolitan city, religious places of almost all religions are here. To name a few :

Famous Religious places of Sikhs :
Gurudwara Sis Ganj in Chandni Chowk,
Gurudwara Bangla Saheb near Connaught Place
Gurudwara Rakab Ganj, near Connaught place

Famous Hindu Temples :
Lakshmi Narayan Temple (Birla Mandir) near Gole Market
Akshardham Mandir, near Mayur Vihar I,
ISKON Temple in East of Kailash, Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place,
Kalka Mandir near Nehru Place

Famous Churches :
St james Church near Mori Gate,
St Luke's Church near Defence Colony
Church of North India near Gol Dak Khana

Famous Mosques & Dargah :
Jama Masjid near Red Fort
Nizammuddin Auliya ki Dargah, near Nizammudin Rly Station
Chirag - i - Delhi Dargah : in Chirag Delhi
Moth Ki Masjid situated in Masjid Moth Area of South Delhi

Eating out in Delhi : If you are new to Delhi, you must try the famous Delhi items like 'Delhi ki Chaat', 'Chholey Bhaturey', Gol Gappe, bhel puri, stuffed prantha etc. These items are available almost in all markets and also in Haldiram outlets. In place like Delhi Haat, one can find 'Food Stalls' of almost all states of India serving regional foods.

For having food, all kinds of restaurants, serving International Food and Indian Regional foods, are available in Delhi. Those who eat pure vegetarian food also have plenty of choices of restaurants serving only 100% pure vegetarian food.

There are lot of outlets of International Chains of McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, SubWay etc.

Italian Food : Italian Food like Pizza, Pasta etc are famous in Delhi and are easily available. Special Italian Food serving restaurants are : 'Little Italy' in Defence Colony, 'West View' in Maurya Sheraton, 'Olive' near Qutab Minar, 'La Pizza' in Hyatt Regency.

Thai Food : Restaurants serving specially Thai food are 'EGO' in Friends Colony, 'Cullinaire' in Greater Kailash II, 'Ban Thai' in Hotel Oberoi, 'Chilli Seasons' in Lodhi Colony.

Chinese Food : Chinese food is famous in Delhi and almost every market one can easily get Chinese food.

Japanese Food : is available in 'Tokyo' restaurant in Ashoka Hotel, and in 'Osaka' in Huaz Khas Village.

Sagar Ratna : It is the chain of restaurants serving South Indian pure vegetarian food.

A few websites are also listed which can give you information on day to day basis as to what is happening in Delhi about various events, stage shows, dramas, movies, night clubs, shopping and so on.
http://www.timeoutdelhi.net/
http://www.delhievents.com/
http://timescity.com/delhi/events
A 'Helpline' number for knowing the phone numbers of any place of interest : 69999999 ( it is the call center known as 'Just Dial'. )